My hope is to honor God with every brushstroke… to bring light to the world by expressing my Joy in The Light OF the World.

Finish Well

As I walked into my studio this morning, I had to stop and take a minute. The painting I’m working on is sitting in its easel, waiting to be finished. And it’s good. If you know me at all, you know this is hard for me to say about my own work. I’m very self-critical, which I’ve been working on, and I’m never quite satisfied… Always tweaking. But this is a good piece, if I can finish it well.

My husband and I are both pianists, and we often say about improvisation that it’s not how you get into a chord progression, it’s how well you get out of it. In music, art, writing… In life, it’s all about finishing well. They say people remember what they see and hear first and last. I always remember the end of the movie, the end of the book. We always know who wins the race no matter what happens in the middle.

There’s a gospel song called Finish Well. The words to the chorus say it all.

Finish well
Every day that we are given
Finish well
For the glory of His name
Finish strong
Until the Savior finally calls us home
Give it everything we have
Finish well.

I had the privilege of accompanying this song a few months ago. It was my worship that day and many days following. (As you can tell by now, music sticks with me.) It’s difficult to read music through tears, but this is one of those songs for me. Convicting to the bone, it makes me ask myself questions… How am I doing in MY race? Did I start strong and fizzle? Am I still on track to finish well? If God called me home today, would he indeed say, “Well done, my child?”

I tried to find a recording of this song but couldn’t find one I liked.